Archers thread #155: Cold Comfort Farms! The rural sagas continue. Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

FILL THE OLD THREAD UP FIRST! https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4902507-archers-thread-154-cider-with-fat-rosie-meadow-rise-to-candleford-or-the-darling-horrobins-of-september-get-your-rural-saga-fix-discuss-the-archers-here?page=10

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. We don't all agree on all points, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd like to hear more scenes in the abattoir, or other unusual views.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please! We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-join-us-here, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, @DadDadDad has created this useful thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have - BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

Lots of lively discussion about Brad's university aspirations and the Open Day on the last thread. Do you want him to end up at Felpersham or do you want him to spread his wings and go further afield? Where will Mia go?

Will this thread see the end of Rob, or do we have many weeks more before his long overdue demise?

What's going on at Grey Gables? Are they running into financial trouble? Will we hear from Roy, who I had forgotten was working there until he was mentioned the other day? Who are the mysterious 'Owners'? Will the locum GP turn out to be Adil's sister, as we have been surmising since she first spoke? Why's she been conjured up?

Talking of the GP, I'm hoping against hope we're not in for bad news about Jim's mole.

Praying that we're going to get a long and much-needed break from hearing P*p. Not praying that we hear Rob being christened. Who would be his sponsor, as someone commented on the last thread? Harrison? Surely that would be a conflict of interest. Can't see who else would do it locally.

I wonder how Ben is getting on now he's back on his nursing degree? Will we ever hear anything about Lily's course, or how Freddie's getting on at the abattoir?

So many questions! Over to you for some answers and boundless speculation.

also, if Solihull is commutable does that mean Brad could go to Birmingham uni and commute from home? Only if he drives I imagine. Public transport from villages is decidedly iffy in the provinces.

using google maps, and Inkberrow for Ambridge, the journey is 17miles, 40 mins by car to arrive 9.30am. Public transport is over 3 hours, and you start the day before.

@Alwaysdieting, you said
Im surprised Lyndy is getting involved with the witch stuff she seems more intelligent than that.
Everyone knows that the witch trails were to keep women in their place and to get rid of trouble makers.

but it was clear last night that Lynda knows perfectly well that the persecution of witches was the persecution of innocent women?

I didn't know about the interesting building practices to protect against witches that you mention, but I bet Lynda does - or if she didn't know already, she will have found out by googling by now.

Re the tale itself - perhaps Eddie was remembering a tale he'd heard from Joe, without realising it. Local history gets passed down orally, although occasionally someone will collect and record the version that was being told long after the event originally occurred.

This made me cackle, hopefully no villagers heard 🧙‍♀️

I am SURE Rob was lurking behind a gravestone, it’s what he would do.

I can’t believe there isn’t one Ambridge feminist going “what a horrible story about how older women were and maybe still are treated” rather than OH BUT MAYBE SHE WAS A WITCH THO.

By my calculations Ambridge is a much easier commute to Warwick than Brum. He would need to drive but that’s still far cheaper than halls.

For distances like that, couldn't he get a moped or motorbike? Or even cycle?

Where's Pat? Isn't she the resident Ambo feminist?

Cleaning her shotgun, I hope.

Rob blasted by Pats shotgun and dying on the altar when he turns up to a Sunday service?

If we're speculating, I'm reminded of the fate that befalls Timothy Dalton as he slips up on the mini Somerfields van in the pivotal punch-up in the model village in Hot Fuzz. I won’t link to a clip as it’s a bit very, very gruesome but it is also 😂😂 It even involves a small boy (could be Myson?) being held hostage.

gosh that whole scene is brilliant - i hadn't realised he tripped on a Somerfields van, that's fab.

i love the "it really hurts" in such a plaintive tone

I suspect female vicar is never actually going to meet Rob. He's not interested in God other than a means of persecuting Helen or getting his hands on Jack.

I wish they'd clarify the ambit of the court order Helen has got keeping Rob away. I'd have thought there is some sort of specification, e.g. that he mustn't go within a mile/5 miles of the boys' home and school or something, so he's probably breaching it by turning up at the church. I also wish Helen would do something about enforcing it. I know he tried to make out it was a nullity because she contacted him previously, but her solicitor could have put her right about that by now.

The church Rob turned up at wasn't St Stephen's, it was St Agnes', so I suppose it is not in Ambridge. It might be the one in the village where he now lives, Penny Hassett.

Catching up with the thread and TA. Usha was excellent. Glad Alan spoke to the Bishop too.

Brad could commute to Warwick but not sure how, village transport will be his undoing. Once he made it to somewhere bigger there's a train station almost on campus.

St Agnes is the patron saint of victims of rape and sexual abuse…

What's happened to Alice and Chris? They haven't been in it for ages.

I can’t decide whether that’s an amazing little Easter egg served up by the SWs or, more likely coincidental.

Love the way Emma’s intonation now sounds more and more like her father-in-law!

Lurker - hope no-one minds me joining in. Wow. Usha was brilliant!

@Patcherdog
Hopefully, you mean ex-lurker
Welcome!

Wasn’t she @Patcherdog? I shouted a “yay Usher!” while listening to the podcast in the shower, my dh thought I’d had a seizure 😬

I'd be surprised if Tim Stimpson didn't know. The subject of rape and sexual abuse seems to have been one he and Sean O'Connor studied up on for the previous storyline about Rob, and finding out the patron saint of the victims seems a reasonable part of that.

I think possibly only if one is of a Catholic persuasion....

But I agree, unlikely to be a coincidence, it's not like St Agnes is a common church patron saint.

Yep she was totally no-nonsense and Alan is luck to have her.

I think actually slightly less resonant if one is of a Catholic persuasion. St Agnes does have those people under her patronage, but she's not the most famous saint to do so, and I would say is better known as an early martyr generally rather than for the rape element. If you asked Catholics, they would think of Maria Goretti or St Rita or St Monica quite a long way ahead of St Agnes, IMO.

Maybe St Agnes is better known amongst Anglicans?